"I've always been one never to make excuses," Weis told the Domer faithful. "You back your words by your performance on the field. I think that's the message our team is going to follow on September 6 with San Diego State. I think the first opportunity we'll have to make a statement is that day."

"Then we'll listen to Michigan have all their excuses as they come running in, saying how they have a new coaching staff and those changes. To hell with Michigan."

To hear it with your own ears, check out the video below at about the 50 second mark...

120 comments:

Looks like he's waiting for his helping of Humble Pie. Just like the Wizards did with the Cavs. I hate teams and players that openly run their mouth when they are at the bottom looking up. I don't see ND winning more than 6 games this year. They haven't improved at all and Weiss will be fired by the end of the season.

aside from Coach Jabba, I have to say: a) pretty cool video, b) pretty cool day for those kids, and c) Michigan fans can resonate to that kind of passion and enjoyment from our football team and traditions

It'll be nice channeling some of that hate away from these ass-spelunking Suckeye fans and towards Jabba & Co. At least Irish fans are not so obsessed like Suckeyes to spend their off time from delivering pizzas to troll these boards.

And Sru - taking up for ND, even against your hated rival doesn't look good on you! I'm admittingly a very obvious outsider in the Michigan - OSU rivalry, but I thought the gentlemen's agreement was that common hatred of all things ND was A-ok.

After seeing the SI list thread, I realize just how obsessed Suckeye fans really are with UM, even though they've come out on the winning end the last few years. Knowing that will ALWAYS make me smile.

Hell, look at this thread. It has NOTHING to do with them and sru was just clicking away to see if anyone talked bad about tUOS (on a UM board no less). Maybe the Suckeyes on these boards have been ostracized from their inbred brethren on THEIR boards. I dunno.

hmmm - in the title bar of this page it says "college football forum". in the tab title it says "college football forum". at the top of this page it says "post a comment on: college football forum". on the main page, under "college football forum" it says "Rants, comments, thoughts, praise, critiques, etc. on all things Michigan and college football."

except for the name 'mzone', which i always thought stood for mediocre zone, this seems like a college football forum. kinda hard to be "trolling" at a college football forum. if it's about college football, it's fair game. even if it's someone posting proof that your program's overrated year in and year out or other people posting that you've won 1/2 national championship in 60 years.

the rivalry has always had cycles/streak, regardless of coaches. it's very rare to have a stretch where the two teams play "dead even" for a real length of time.

that said, tosu has had a very good streak. Lloyd's last years of stubborn mediocrity have coincided w/ tosu hiring a younger, good coach and the results have shown on the field.

and now that's ending. and they're panicked. there's a tangible sense of the "moment" passing them right now. the two humiliating bcs blow outs? the loss at home to UT? losing to UI? they've had their chances, haven't capitalized, and now this season could be the last opportunity.

and that scares them. because if tosu football isn't "great" but merely "good"? they have nothing. i think that's why the SI article stung so much. it at what they fear most- their natural obscurity.

An OSU employee likes to make some meth? Its worth posting here. Girl dresses up in her PJ's, sings "twinkle twinkle" (poorly I might add) and posts herself on YouTube? Its worth posting here. Guy screws picnic table? Post it! I come here to get all my latest OSU news such as which way is the top rated QB recruit or Michigan OL is coming to Columbus next, and get some laughs while I'm at it.

it is pretty funny (and telling) that no Domers have showed up to discuss Fatass's statements or M fans view of them.

that said, Fatass has taken shots before. prior to 2005, he had the "michigan's just another game" crack. and then Lloyd promptly made it true.

this year he senses (though i'm not sure why) he has a chance at winning and he's worried that the press won't give him any credit for it. i think he should worry more about the aztecs and wait until he's beaten SOMEBODY to spend much time worrying about other peoples' excuses.

Nowadays on here... Yost can post pics of half naked coeds, and somehow the comment fall to name calling about other schools.

I think I need to take a break until everyone decides to have constructive conversations.

Speaking of which... if anyone is in the Bologna, Italy region on Saturday and plays softball (fast-pitch)... my team is looking for about 3 people because of injuries to our players... you're more than welcome to come play for us!!

well, there goes the community. first, the suckeyes move in & lower property values. then the "dezzis" of the world begin to bail, starting an M flight to the internet suburbs. eventually, the inner city blog is a crumbling structure w/ dying infrastructure and empty burned out posts where tosu squatters set up camp, terrorizing the remaining M fans who refuse to bail out of stubborness or finances (they're upside down on their mortgages and can't sell their avatars for what they paid for them).

i guess we better start talking to Yost about setting up a community watch program now.

After 3 years of 8-4 seasons playing the spread offense, you will wish Lloyd never stepped aside. The offense (and lack of defense) he runs has never won a National Championship. You could argue that Texas with Vince Young was close but guys like him come around once a decade and he chose tosu.

to anyone pissing and moaning that this ND thread is full of OSU comments.

We didn't come on here, read comments about Weis and changed the topic to OSU vs UM. Vada took the first (unnecessary) jab (which by the way proves how "not obsessed" he is with OSU). If you don't want us responding to your insults, DON'T INSULT US.

After 3 years of 8-4 seasons playing the spread offense, you will wish Lloyd never stepped aside. The offense (and lack of defense) he runs has never won a National Championship.

WHAT? This is ludicrous.

A) With Lloyd still here the program would've continued it's slide into mediocrity. Sad but true. As for 8-4, what do you think we've been living with? '06 was an anomaly, I'll take my chances with someone who has won everywhere he's been.

B) Lack of defense? 18th in total run defense last year and 7th overall. And in '06 they were two spots ahead of the Buckeyes iirc. Plus, we're not running the 3-3-5, so you're point is moot.

C) The offense he runs has never been played with bigtime talent. The closest thing to it would be FLORIDA and LSU. Perhaps you've heard of them.

I'm going on record right now as predicting that we will awaken from our slumber to become a dominant force unlike anything we've ever been. We've won for years despite mediocre game planning, a predictable offense and an archaic S&C program. The influx of innovation on offense and in conditioning, coupled with Shafer's aggressive defensive style, will overturn that.

So how about we discuss the upcoming UM - ND game? Any thoughts? Personally I can't make any predictions given the fact that ND is a bad team with a highly overrated coach. However UM seems to be a completely unknown commodity at this point.

Maybe Charlie's much anticipated recruitment class can come in and make up for his total lack of coaching ability. Sure, he's got the rings, but it doesn't appear that his hype has translated well to the college game. I think Clausen is as good as advertised, but last year the team around him stunk up the field. No blocking, no WR's, no running game. I can't imagine the 2008 version of JC will be much better if nothing changed.

Who's to say where RR will have the UM team by that time. You guys are the experts, I'll let you tell me.

Also, someone just sent me this information from Stewart Mandell at SI. Enjoy ...

Stewart: I'm of the belief that college football benefits from the presence of a perennial powerhouse to root for/against. This role has been filled recently by USC and, to some degree, Oklahoma and LSU. Do you see any team asserting itself in the next few years and filling the role?-- Marc P., Somerville, MassI'm pretty sure that team already exists -- and it's The Ohio State University. In nearly a decade covering this sport, I've never seen such universal animosity toward a program (Notre Dame notwithstanding) than what currently surrounds the Buckeyes. Based on some of the e-mails I receive, you would think Jim Tressel has been caravanning around the country egging houses. It's pretty interesting when you think about it. Normally, people root against the teams that win a lot; in this case, the ill will has been generated entirely by the Buckeyes having lost in consecutive national championship games. The good news is, this should all be resolved fairly early this season. As mentioned earlier, Ohio State plays at USC the third week of the season. If they win, no one will be able to accuse the Buckeyes of "backing into" the title game this time. (By the way, what's with the short-term memory, people? With the amount of complaints I receive about Ohio State's schedule you would never guess they played Texas as recently as 2006.) If the Buckeyes get crushed again, I give you my word as a pollster they will quietly disappear into the night. Ohio State should now be permanently banned from the top five. If not that, at least keep them out of the top two. They DO NOT belong there.-- Kevin Flagg, Alpharetta, Ga.See what I mean?

Thanks josh, I'm a little disapointed my posts haven't generated more discussion given the fact that they're an attempt at constrcutive conversation, relevant to the original post, and directly related to Michigan. Come back SiC, Catie, I'm trying to work with you here.

Sorry... I don't have any real ill will towards tOSU. I grew up in Ohio... went to UM and all my friends who were tOSU students at the time I was at UM... we had a great time ribbing each other. Granted, we went 3-1 in that time with the 1997 season as the cap.

I also grew up as a UM fan during the Cooper Era... which tOSU fans seem to forget given their recent success. During this time... I was not arrogant because I know that in order for respect for the conference, we need all teams (not just tOSU and UM) to be at a decent level.

That is why the SEC irks me... they say they play in the toughest conference, and then validate it by winning national titles... most recently, LSU. Not a jab at tOSU, but the SEC seems to look at that game as THE defining game! No mention of previous Florida... with almost the same team... getting beat by a UM team that was in the process of upheaval!

This is why I don't "hate" tOSU... I really want what's best for the conference because if both tOSU and UM can say that they played at tough in conference schedule, and then take care of business during the bowls... then I'm cool!

Feel free to rip me all you want, but I'm of the fact that it would be better for both UM and tOSU to clean house, and then fight it out at the end of the season (ala 2006)... we can co-exist...

well put however I don't think osu fans forget the cooper era - on the contrary, I think many osu fans are going over the top rubbing in the last 7 years because of all the shit we took from michigan fans during the cooper years. you may not have been arrogant about it, but trust me, you were in the minority.

I grew up in Ohio... I understand that in my hometown there were about 10 UM fans out of 10,000.

I know how to pick my battles. I understand the current streak... hopefully it will even out a bit over the next few years. I'm also hoping that RR can bring back some competitive fire to the rivalry (which he seems to be doing a decent job of so far)... here's to many years of Tressel and RR going at it!

Just to let you know... in November... I'll be watching that game (on my Slingbox) and NOTHING will pull me away from it. Even if Miss Swiss 2008 wants to sleep with me... I will decline!

I've got ill will against Michigan, but we'll push that aside for now. I think you're dead-on with the SEC talk. In no way does the SEC dominate the Big 10 head-to-head like so many people seem to believe. In fact, if you dropped OSU's pathetic 0-9 record the Big 10 would thoroughly dominate the head-to-head record. Do people forget that UF was favored by somewhere around 11 points and UM could have beaten that Florida team by like 20+ points if it weren't for opportunistic turnovers? Do people forget that Arkansas was the runner-up in the SEC last year and got beat by Wisconsin? Plus I don't know why this feud is specific to the Big 10. How are the Big 12, ACC, Big East, and PAC 10 conferences somehow absent from this argument of relative strength?

And my favorite argument is how USC somehow morphs into an SEC team when they beat the Big 10. Seriously, when they beat you guys two years ago the SEC fans pointed to that loss as evidence we can't beat them, and I heard more of the same after Illinois lost to USC this year. Are they too stupid to realize that USC is in the PAC 10 conference? If anything it should demonstrate that you can find speed everywhere, its not exclusive to SEC players.

And just so I cover all bases, nobody forgets a period as long and painful as the Cooper era. I think the main distinction I have between then and now is that in the 90's the painful losses to Michigan came when we were undefeated, Michigan would have 2 or 3 losses, and they ruined our perfect seasons. That's a special kind of pain that can't be described, it can only be experienced. We haven't been able to properly return the favor since the only undefeated Michigan team we've faced under Tressel came when we were both undefeated. Trust me, it hurts more when you when you watch a national championship caliber team lose to your rival when their whole season comes down to ruining yours.

compare and contrast if you will the quality and caliber of ND fans' aggrandizing videos and the tUoOS propaganda we routinely see.It may be complete selection bias, generated by the lens of our WONDERFUL AND BELOVED host, Yost.(whom we pray will stay with us forever...)

or, it may be directly related to some inherent quality of said fans of each school.

You could change the 'colors' on this ND video to Maize and Blue and it would look damned familiar to ALL of us M-fans in terms of passion, committment, glee, and tradition. But if you change up a tUoOS video and try the same trick? The implausiblity meter would blow up.....

Thanks for agreeing with me Huckleberry.....but there is NO way given that cheesy, cherry-red vest you are wearing, even if you do have an uncanny resemblance to Val Kilmer ;-)

Yeah... I can bet that was tough. I remember having no expectations going into the game, because if UM lost... eh... but a win was sweet.

I see the other conferences trying to put down a UM or tOSU or Illinois the same as the intra-conference rivalries within the Big 10. They don't want another conference to have more pub than theirs... but hey... that's the way I feel about the Big 10.

With tOSU being in the top 5 hated teams... I think it has more weight that they're good but seem to choke the big one away... meaning they play a weak schedule (according to all others outside the Big 10)...

I look forward to the season when all of us can talk about results instead of predictions... though I think Feagin will be playing in the first few games... that's my prediction.

My apologies for not policing the comments better today. Caught up in some work stuff and haven't been able to keep up with all comments as they come in. But things have gotten a bit out of hand on this thread.

Look, I never mind when people razz on Michigan (hell, that's what the The Rock transfer post is!), but it needs to be funny, clever or make a point.

And just as importantly, I welcome Buckeye fans. The contributions of most make this a better blog. But at the end of the day, I'm a Michigan fan and this site is still and will always be very pro-Michigan.

So while this is a broad topic "college football blog," to imply that it isn't also a Michigan blog or doesn't have a Michigan bias is disingenuous. Please consider that before commenting.

In any event, in the future as soon as I see them, I will delete those posts - no matter which fans put them up - that are dickish just to be dickish. We all know the difference. If not, check out the comments on Deadspin. Or the ones here about The Rock transferring. Funny shit. Made great points.

Doesn't mean we can't get heated here, but we all know -- or should know -- what the boundaries are.

And for those who are upset by the "censorship," I can only say starting one's own blog on Blogger is free.

It's just tiresome listening to you crash the board with the same lame rants about elitist attitudes (something you know nothing about), Michigan's obsession with tUoOS (yet, you're here), integrity issues (coming from someone who is a supporter of an institution which has produced Art Schlichter, Andy Katzenmoyer, Maurice Clarett, yada, yada, yada), and so on.

You're generally the first person to turn the conversation south but expect people to interpret you broken record of posts as humor -- you really need to get over yourself.

actually, i'm usually the first osu poster that responds after a michigan poster turns the conversation south (see this very thread, post #4). i guess that's ok though. this thread is about charlie weis, notre dame and michigan, yet vada posts about ass spelunking osu suckeye fans, turning the conversation south and the whole thread deteriorated from there.

besides, i rarely if every talk about UM fans obsessed with osu because it's normally not true. granted this is a michigan blog that has a 2-1 ratio of osu stories to michigan stories, but if i ran an osu blog, i'm pretty sure it'd be the same way (2-1 um stories).

the stuff about integrity issues comes from constantly hearing about osu's issues in the "that would never happen at michigan" tone of voice i always hear it in. katzenmoyer took easy classes! that would never happen at the harvard of the west! osu players getting busted for pot - not at michigan! and so on and so on.

I already have Tombstone on my DVR... it's been on a few times this month on Encore.

Loyal Reader...

I'm in Switzerland... Geneva to be exact. This is the French part of Switzerland where liederhosen do not exist...

Well... this will probably be my last post until Tuesday... leaving for Bologna, Italy in 4 hours... and Monday is a holiday (Pentecost) so I'm gonna have fun outside! This weekend... I'll be wearing my block M hat during the HR Derby to influence some Italian support!

Look, I've been reading this blog for well over a year now, but I never posted until I started seeing Suckeye fans posting smart-ass remarks on here and was tired of sifting through them to get to Michigan-related items.

I don't even understand why Suckeye fans would want to visit here unless they were trying to aggravate Michigan fans. Hell knows the ratio of "F-U Michigan" blogs to "F-U tUOS" blogs are probably 10:1 out there. I just want to come to a place where ardent UM fans discuss UM sports and, yes, even have a laugh or two at the expense of the Suckeyes.

There are NO, I repeat, NO, Suckeye fans frequenting this forum who's purpose is to have an Michigan-slanted discussion of UM topics because they all hate UM. Hell, just look at all of their hate lists on the SI list topic.

So I cannot conclude that people like Drulz, Sru (especially with that POS avatar - criticize MY avatar, will you, ha), wing, Whets et. al. visit here for any other reason than to incite UM fans.

I never go on any Suckeye forums because I know what they are doing there. And the hypocrite Suckeye fans that infest this blog know they'd have the same reaction if U-M fans made the same smart-ass comments on the Suckeye forums.

I love all the UM fans on this blog, so I would never think of abandoning this blog and missing the exploits of Yost, Catie, T-IX, joshua, SiC, BAH, et. al., but perhaps there is another forum out there where U-M fans can discuss U-M sports w/o having Suckeye fans throw out pithy remarks at topics posted ON A F**KING UM BLOG!

And as for whoever said they took sh!t during the Cooper years when U-M owned tUOS, I'm guessing there weren't a lot of blogs around for U-M fans to rub your noses in it then - though I wish there were because then you'd know what venom really was.

I'm not really bothered that much by the statement "To hell with Michigan" itself. It's the context. First of all, Weis is making a big mistake. IIRC, you always respect your opponent. We as fans can make fun of ND, but the players themselves have to respect the opponent. UM didn't respect App St. and The Horror happened.

Second, Weis dwells too much on how he is the king of not making excuses. It just sounds pathetic. This will sound stupid, but everyone makes excuses at some point, and some are valid. Was Lloyd just making excuses when he said that Hart and Henne were injured at the end of the season? Is it really just BS to say that UM will struggle in 08 because it is adjusting to the coaching change? I get what Weis is saying, that you play to the whistle, but if ND wins this year but UM comes back and continues to crush ND, then Weis will look like an ass, as if he doesn't already.

I don't think enough people realize the importance of Killing My Liver's comment, but Charlie Weis is one fat bastard. Holy cow! He's got fat acne on his ass as big as Magino. Nathan's asked to advertise their name on that pack of hot dogs on the back of his neck. In practice, he doesn't run around any more because when he sweats all of the southern recruits were sopping up their biscuits in that gravy. For the team picture, they had to use the Hubble Telescope.

"I just want to come to a place where ardent UM fans discuss UM sports and, yes, even have a laugh or two at the expense of the Suckeyes."

Seems to be the place.

"There are NO, I repeat, NO, Suckeye fans frequenting this forum who's purpose is to have an Michigan-slanted discussion of UM topics because they all hate UM."

Wow. When you use "all" your argument is severely weakened. Just one example to the contrary could disprove your whole message.

"So I cannot conclude that people like...visit here for any other reason than to incite UM fans."

I'd say your conclusion is faulty and it's obvious how you arrived there, but it is yours.

"And the hypocrite Suckeye fans that infest this blog know they'd have the same reaction if U-M fans made the same smart-ass comments on the Suckeye forums."

Actually, you're wrong. As pointed out several days ago the MGoBlue brigade was dive-bombing an OSU blog. So? It made for good reading. If you want purity, I suppose El Jeffe needs to limit attendance here.

Here's a conclusion of my own. It may be faulty. I arrived at it from reading your comments Lord Vada:

"And the hypocrite Suckeye fans that infest this blog know they'd have the same reaction if U-M fans made the same smart-ass comments on the Suckeye forums.

- Actually, you're wrong. As pointed out several days ago the MGoBlue brigade was dive-bombing an OSU blog. "

AND? The Suckeye fans responded with kindness and caring? Reading comprehension, ftw. I'm not saying UM fans don't insult tUOS fans on their blogs, I'm saying they probably respond the same way some here do.

"So I cannot conclude that people like...visit here for any other reason than to incite UM fans.

- I'd say your conclusion is faulty and it's obvious how you arrived there, but it is yours."

Really? Please tell me why you are here Whets?

- Because you like reading the other side's opinion? Can you not do that w/o making wiseass comments?

- Because tUOS forums are boring? I can buy that, but it doesn't provide reasoning for posting wiseass comments.

- Because you actually like Michigan and have been deceiving us this entire time?

Spin it anyway you want, but there's no rational explanation for any Suckeye fan to be posting here other than to poke fun of/insult/trash UM fans. Yost has given his blessing for at least one of those, so go ahead, but don't try and con anyone as to your intentions here.

for the most part, the back and forth between most of the readers here is pretty entertaining. SIC cracks me up. titleix is a blast. catie, well i usually don't get to read much of what she types thanks to her cleavage filled avatar :) - plus she confused me with the name change!

the one think i have noticed here though is that you do not have hardly any pro-osu readers here saying stuff about gay porn, ass spelunking, etc or even juvenile name calling. the ones that do are normally the type that post about 5 times and are gone.

you may get barbs about manningham's wonderlic score, or independent study programs, or family values, etc. but that's part of what makes this rivalry what it is. hell we deserve to be ridden about henton (what kind of car does he drive? a black hummer), buckstaches, fans wacking off in libraries (as opposed to players doing it on front porches i suppose), etc. as long as it's not hateful and in good fun, why not?

i hate michigan with a passion - but you'll never see me calling people douchebags, or saying they like gay porn or anything hateful like that because i respect the rivalry and deep down, i respect the school.

in case you haven't noticed, this isn't a place where michigan fans talk about UM sports. oh there's the occassional thread about actual UM sports themselves. but for the most part, it's a place where michigan fans can come to laugh at their opponents and the fans of their opponents - and that's what i love about it - it's actually the ONLY blog i read and it's because it's funny and there's a lot of good natured ribbing going on. do i cringe everytime an idiot gets caught doing something stupid wearing osu gear? hell yeah. is it even worse when they always seem to have a fucking mustache??? hell yeah. but when Yost points that stuff out - it's great and in my opinion, funny as hell.

Oh Vada, its so funny listening to you play the victim here. All you do is incite us and then cry about how there is so many posts by us. You don't say anything material about your team or your school, you just keep rattling off suckeye comments because they're oh-so-clever.

And I did ask for predictions about the UM - ND game. I'm sure you're just dying to share your thoughts on something actually related to football.

Not at all. I'm simply explaining why I've posted what I have in the past. Playing the victim would imply that I would expect you to stop trashing us. Which I don't.

"All you do is incite us and then cry about how there is so many posts by us."

I already explained that my first reason for posting here was to respond to you Suckeyes bashing us.

"You don't say anything material about your team or your school, you just keep rattling off suckeye comments because they're oh-so-clever."

I enjoy reading others on here because they are usually more insightful about UM sports than I am. And especially more than you, unless you count, for example - "Congrats to Hagen's Heroes!!!!" in this thread (which was unprovoked and was YOU inciting US - hear that wingrg?)....insightful. And there's always the inevitability that one of you will respond to any serious posting I had with a "oh-so-clever" remark.

I have to say that one thing that drew me to this board was the amount of intelligent conversation regarding not only football but life in general. Whets has always contributed to that. In fact, he is one of the very few Buckeye fans whose opinion I truly respect. Keep in mind that I lived in Ohio for a few years, and off the top of my head I can think of only 2 other hardcore Buckeye fans who I'd trust to have a legitimate, logical and only slightly biased debate with.

One of the reasons I love college football is the social aspect of it. We gather, we discuss, we share a few beers over a common passion. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Buckeye fans I've encountered are either incapable of having a civil discussion or choose not to. Perhaps that has contributed to the mean-spiritedness that has been rampant here lately (you assume the worst), or maybe everyone's just grumpy over paying nearly $4 a gallon for gas and the lack of actual football. Whatever it is, I think it's a shame. Had Whets been greeted with the same attitude that some of the newcomers have been I don't think he'd have stuck around, and I think most of you would agree that that would've made the romper-room less fun.

I think it would do all of us some good to take a breath and look at how else something could've been meant before assuming the worst and going on an all out attack. Often times sarcasm doesn't always come across well on the net, and the fact remains not everyone's nearly as funny as I am- that's just one of those unfortunate facts of life. (Oh yeah and I'm modest, too, don't want to forget that.) Anyway, just an observation- take it or leave it.

Damn it! So much for the feminist movement! That picture is so tiny, how can you even....see the....oh hell....

Catie, respecting a woman and admiring a few of the physical qualities that make her a woman are not mutually exclusive. As for the tiny pic and how you can still tell, well..... if you're standing on a skyscraper and you can still tell a guy on the sidewalk below is tall, there's a good chance that that guy's REALLY tall. I'm just sayin'..... ;)

Vada - I'll do my best to explain why I'm here. Its a long story, but I'll try to give the short version.

My brother listens to Colin Cowherd every day and one particular day he sent me an email with some of Colin's material that he had heard that morning. It was "the new Wonderlic Test " and it was some of the funniest sh1t I'd ever heard in my life. I was literally LOL. A few weeks later I googled it so I could share it with some of my friends when I found out that he had stolen the material word-for-word from this very site. Sure I'm disappointed that it was a Michigan fan that come up with it, but I believe that comedy is an art form and you have to give props when you see it. Since then I've come back again and again when I've wanted some laughs, even if most of the time I'm laughing at myself.

Now I've posted under different handles (with similar sentiments) in the past and usually the responses I've received to questions or posts have been insightful, accurate, and defensible. This time around that's only been half true. Lots more blind rage and name calling then I expected for sure, even on a Michigan blog. I'm perfectly willing to get into debates with people who don't share my opinions, I think that simply helps broaden my perspective. So I'm truly not here to play "poke the bear" with Michigan fans, but yes, I'll return jabs if thrown my way, and I'll make some oh-so-clever comments if I feel there is truth to them. As Yost said, you should know where to draw the line, and I always try to before posting anything, even if the content is decidedly anti-Michigan.

Romper-room is just fun to say. In fact it's right up there on my list of words I try to use in everyday conversations simply because they're fun. And yes, do this consciously. Without it I'd have to give up my title of Genius of Frivolity. A few others:

I mean, we can talk with considerable knowledge about Lloyd and the predictable schemes but none of us can say ANYTHING about Rich Rod and the New Crew.Just like Michigan fans can't 'brag', Michihaters can't (and shouldn't be) flinging sh!t on what will happen.

I mean it's reasonable to talk about what the new schemes may be, what the personnel may look like, and what is new and different over in Schembechler. (you should SEE the iron works going up for the new indoor practice field! the punting game is SURE to benefit. remind me to tell you a story about the old indoor building)

So none of us really have factual information on which to base our wit and witicisms---at least not yet.Personally, I'm getting a bit tired of all the "your gonna suck", "no we won't" droning going on and the inferences employed in the guise of truths....ie, what did or didn't happen at WVU, how many championships, how many athletes in the NFL etc etc etc

SNORE.BYGONES.APPLESORANGES

SO what's left??? Well, one route would be name calling ridicule and dickishness (catie and I have a free pass in that regard since we are proudly sans dicks)no thanks

another would be fun with language and double entendres and hearing about dezzi does europe.

Personally, I vote for the cerebral route and let's stay out of the community college game of gutter ball.

Kryptonite is clearly the wrong word, as it's associated with being Superman's one weakness, and primarily used by the forces of evil. I'd prefer to think Catie would be more like the University, and use her "endowment" for the enrichment of herself and others.

I would like to think that my brains get me further, however I must confess that my "endowment" is helpful along the way, and I DO sometimes use it for evil, so Kryptonite isn't that far off the mark ;o)

Does anyone have any insight to your squad this year? Everyone I'm familiar with on the offense jumped ship or went pro. So here are some questions I'm curious about ...

1. What do you see as far as the QB situation? Everything I've read says that its murky at best. Do you think that one of these two top rated dual threat QB's will come in and win the starting job next year?

2. Is your RB going to be Brandon Minor (I think that's his name anyway, had a good game against Ball State in 2006?) What about Sam McGuffie? Possibly a starter in 2008?

3. What is your WR situation? All I remember is Arrington and Manningham. Was there someone who looked ready to jump into the next deep threat?

It is reported that RR says he will play 7-8 true freshmen in the fall. He seems opposed to redshirting so that isn't a huge surprise. Brian reported that Terrance Robinson and Martavious Odoms (slot receivers) will likely see playing time as freshmen. Darryl Stonum (WR) seems to be the best we have at this point, (and he is already enrolled).I am fairly certain that McGuffie will play, and after seeing the you tube of him jumping over MEN, I hope to see him play!

It really should be interesting. I think everyone seems really nervous about the QB situation, but I feel good about it for some reason. I like having "A" QB, but I also think it would be interesting to switch out 2, sort of like Miles did at LSU last year. I think it would give us an edge, and the recruits that we have landed sound like they could be really play well in RR's system. In some ways it could be good for us to have such a young team with the coaching change. If nothing else, I am looking forward to seeing the excitement that these kids are bound to have, with the way RR talks in public, he has to be pumping up these kids.

My one hope is that we don't lose our bowl record. Losing a few games could be easily expected this year, but I hope we at least win enough to get into a bowl game. Certainly I would take better than that as well!

Ask and you shall receive.....I am certain there are others here who have better insight, but that is what I know.

I agree about having two QB's that you can interchange should be considered an advantage. I would think its harder to game plan for a team that can switch gears like that. Unfortunately the one time OSU tried it with Stanley Jackson and Joe Germaine, all it did was create a huge controversy over who was "the man". You even saw the team picking sides and that's when it got bad. Obviously you've got to build a team-first philosophy before people buy in to the system. Cooper was never good at that and Tressel is staunchly loyal to his starting QB. Its the one position he doesn't want to see any controversy. I'm curious to see how he treats Pryor this coming year since even a talent like Beanie Wells sat more often than not his freshman year.

most of the guys are sticking around to work Barwis' program.I'm guessing that the equipment manager is going to be ordering a slew of new unis...a) making the switch from nike to adidasb) serious loss of weight and inches will require major belt tightening----it will be interesting to see the vital stats on the guys comparitively

Ah Catie, with your voice and endowment you could could have an intellect that would lose a game of Jeopardy to a mentally challenged hamster and you'd still do alright. Brains, however, are unmistakably sexy.

To quote Henry Rollins.....

"I want a woman who can sit me down, shut me up, tell me ten things I don't already know and make me laugh. I don't care what you look like. Just turn me on. And if you can do that, I will follow you on bloody stumps through the snow; I will nibble your mukluks with my own teeth...I will do your WINDOWS. I will care about your feelings. Just have something in there. I want a reader, that's what I want."

Rulz,

Those two QBs will only be seniors in HS next year. Our options are pretty weak, and consist of a redshirt freshman transfer and a true freshman. I think we'll be looking more for the offense to not lose us games vs winning them, though Rod has always put together potent offenses, so we could all be surprised by its proficiency.

At RB we have Minor, Kevin Grady and Avery Horn, all of whom have the potential to be crazy good. The addition of Mike Barwis as our S&C coach will probably do wonders for Grady, and all three could see significant time. McGuffie will probably get a certain number of plays designed to get him the ball in space where he can make plays, but I don't see him starting.

As for WR, we have a Braylon type in true freshman Daryl Stonum. He could be a star in a few years. Greg Mathews has potential as well. In the slot we have several Ninjaback true freshmen who could step right in.

Obviously that's all conjecture, but I think we'll surprise some people. Rod won't be able to run as much of his offense as he'd like, but I think what we do run will be effective. The D has the potential to be KILLER (watch out for true freshman Marcus Witherspoon, I fully expect him to decapitate an opposing player before his career's over) and our new D-coordinator likes to bring it early and often which should play to our newfound speed.

Overall, I think we'll be ok, and possibly pretty good. I'm just really hoping we don't pull a Notre Dame, or someone will have to put me in a straight-jacket or hide all the sharp objects.

Rulz, I am interested to see what sweatervest does with Pryor as well. That was one of the things that I said when Pryor was on the fence.....why go to OSU when sweatervest is going to stay loyal to his current QB?

"Those two QBs will only be seniors in HS next year."

Dohh!!!! SO THAT is why everyone is so nervous about the QB??!! Holy shit, how did I not know that? So much for brains, good thing I don't need them according to Joshua!! :P

Catie, for what it's worth I thought ou were talking about platooning Threet and Feagin at QB next year.

And didn't I just say that brains are unmistakably sexy? To put it another way, I have no patience for unintelligent women anymore. First, you can't talk to them when it's over, and secondly, they don't get the hint when you try to get them to leave!

I didn't think about Kevin Grady because I thought he was out of eligibility. I know you guys have always had high hopes for him that he's yet to live up to, but sometimes players (like Rashard Mendinhall (sp?)) come out of nowhere when they finally see a chance to shine. The closest we had was Johnathan Wells, who consistently underperformed until his senior year when he put on a good enough show to get drafted.

I realized that the two QB's in question were 2009 recruits, I was just wondering if the current group of candidates were considered poor fits for RR's system. Looking longer term I'm wondering if you guys will potentially have to suffer through a rough season and then have to start over with a new guy (or two) in 2009. My guess is that whoever wins the starting job this year will probably keep the position heading into next year, but its always possible that one of those new guys will simply "click" with the offense and take over.

I whole hartedly agree about the Notre Dame comparison. The last thing we need for the Big 10 is to have UM go 3-9. Although i think its going to be a tough year for both of us since I think the whole Big 10 is going to be improved. Every where I look it seems that teams have legitimate reasons to believe this year will be better than last year. Look no further than your little bro. Dantonio's in his second year and that guy knows something about football. Minnesota landed a top notch QB. NW showed a lot of improvement week to week last year and might be ready to explode. Illinois returns most of last year's Rose Bowl team and Ron Zook can flat out recruit. Should be an exciting season.

Grady will have junior eligibility this year. As someone who was absolutely all-world in high school (8,431 yards, 151 touchdowns and 24 consecutive 100 yd games) he's been hampered by injuries. He's also been held back by Lloyd's inexplicable ability to get less out of 5-star recruits than a blind Charlie Weis could get out of a picture book about the South Beach Diet. I suspect the Barwisization of Grady, combined with a new start, will lead to a loss of some weight and possibly amazing results.

As for our season, I don't subscribe to the 6 win prognosis. We've done too well for too long with mediocre game planning. The same talent, in superior shape and properly coached, should do pretty damn well.

joshua, that's a fine list of words. I'm particularly pleased you included kerfuffle, because I just used that the other day. The kerfuffle I was talking about made me mad, but using the word still managed to put a smile on my face.

I would like to suggest another word, a town name a friend of mine has enjoyed randomly using since he got back from Africa: Ouagadougou. (oh-ah-gi-DOO-goo.) It just rolls off the tongue.

Well I've expressed my doubts about RR, which for the record I don't consider slams against him, just doubts. I think his record has been bolstered by VT and Miami leaving the Big East, I think the emergence of Pat White has played a major role, etc.

However, I think you have lots of reasons to also be optimistic. There is little doubt the spread offense is the wave of the future, and you guys now have a master of that offense. There's little doubt OSU has struggled against the spread offense. There is little doubt Barwis is a stellar S&C coach. And of course there is little doubt that RR can recruit with the best of 'em.

I don't see this being like ND, Nebraska or Miami. Teams tend to get in a rut when they have a successful coach and then let him hand over the reigns to his cousin Billy Bob or whoever else he owes a favor. While I can't explain ND's demise, both Nebraska and Miami promoted assistants who were clearly better Indians than chiefs. You guys went out and got yourself a chief. Then WVU quickly promoted their Indian.

While this hasn't lead to the "bed wetting" in Columbus that SiC is predicting, is there concern? Certainly. We have too many unknowns in this equation. I think both schools will feel a little better when the season rolls around and we have more answers then speculation to work with.

And might I add, I'm very happy to be talking some football! Thank you for the discussion.

So much for scanning as a means of reading (makes me wonder how much I am missing from the text books that I am scanning) .

I actually was feeling bad for Threet, after being forced to sit out last season, another coaching change in his career and then excellent prospects coming on board, might mean he sits out his entire career. Now he has a chance to show he can run with the big dogs. I realize that he is more in the "old style" of Michigan football but RR DID say that he can adjust his scheme around a QB. He actually could be an awesome player, is it the unknown that we are nervous about? He seems very bright and able to learn quickly, he is a big guy with a great arm, what am I missing? Maybe not a Vince Young type (or Pat White) nevertheless I think his intelligence strengthens his ability to adjust to change, I am interested in seeing just what he can do.

Yost, I understand that we run the risk of a losing season...... but I really can't believe that it could be like ND. Barwis is a key difference. Just the fact that our players are going to be the most fined tuned men to walk on a college football field, the way that this coaching staff is pumping these kids up........no way no how that we pull a ND this season. Maybe for you, starting out thinking that we could have a losing season will make it easier, I think it is one of those times that you just have to believe. Remember Florida? Before that game, everyone was thinking we would get pounded, I KNEW that we would not, I KNEW that we would go out and play the final game under Lloyd and show the world exactly what we should have looked like the entire year (if Hart and Henne had been healthy) I believed it so much that I made a $250 dollar bet. I was right. I don't think we are going to have a losing season, I think that we are likely to lose a few games, (the nature of change) however pulling a ND is simply not going to happen. Yes I am a little nervous about it all, but deep down, I believe.

I believed it so much that I made a $250 dollar bet. I was right. I don't think we are going to have a losing season, I think that we are likely to lose a few games, (the nature of change) however pulling a ND is simply not going to happen. Yes I am a little nervous about it all, but deep down, I believe.

After reading that with all the "I"'s starting those sentences I fully expected a bunch of drag queens to bust into my office and start in with......

"At first I was afraid, I was petrifiedKept thinkin' I could never live without you by my sideThen I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrongAnd I grew strongAnd I learned how to get along....."

That's right people, I've seen Priscilla Queen of the Desert one too many times. The tally is: Once. Which is exactly one too many times for a straight man. Going on from my oddly amusing thought process..........

Why we won't pull a Notre Dame: First, I think the Charlie Weis experiment is wonderfully, spectacularly flawed. The man is by all accounts an offensive genius, but didn't have any head coaching experience. Unfortunately for ND, I think he's the type of genius who has trouble relating to other people. Look at it this way: When you ride a bike it's mechanical; if you want to turn left, you turn the handlebars left; turn right, turn the handlebars right, etc. When you ride a horse, however, there is a certain amount of coaxing that needs to be done if you want to go left. You can't simply turn it. NFL players are paid professionals and a lot more like bikes, whereas college students are more horselike, and while Charlie may be damn good at riding a bike, he's being exposed worse than Billy Crystal in City Slickers when it comes to horses. I'd like to see them become good again, I think it'd be great for our program, but I don't see it happening under the direction of Three-n-Out Jesus.

As for our offense, we've got skill players who can contribute. As much as I respect Lloyd I think he had the tendency to bury people who could play. I think that even with an all new o-line we'll be ok. I think (hope) Rod will pare down the offense so there's less time involved in the reads and progressions with what we run. It'll benefit the O-line and the QB, and leave it up to our D to win games for us, not unlike Tressell-ball. (But only for 1-2 years, then I fully expect our offense to unleash the hounds of hell on anyone and everyone)

Miami: Well, they let the inmates run the asylum too long, plain and simple. The culture was bound to implode. I like Randy Shannon though and think he'll get them back to where they need to be.

Nebraska: Callahan had no idea. Nebraska football has always been predicated on taking a bunch of walk-on farm boys, putting them in the weight room, and seeing who stuck. Then they would recruit places like Los Angeles for their skill players. When he screwed up the walk-on program he shot himself in the foot. Not many people want to go to Nebraska when they're winning, and no one wants to move to Nebraska when they're losing.

I think it could be argued that we've already gone through our huge slump. There's the losing streak to tUoOS, the bowl game losses, The Horror, etc. I think we'll struggle next year, probably go 7-5 or 6-6. But the recruiting classes are about to become perennial top 5 classes. We'll run an attacking style of defense and an offense that's never utilized the type of talent it'll see at Michigan.

Or like I said before, we could go 3-9 and I'll end up in the loony bin. But I don't think so.

Dear, I wasn't calling out your sentence structure, I was more so making fun of myself and the fact that my thought process went to "I will survive".

And for the record, I never said you were lacking in brain power. I said that had you been lacking in brain power you'd still do ok via the wonder-twins. The fact that you do have brains just makes it that much better.

Personally I think Weis is a fraud. My buddy made a similar argument as Josh saying that he may be a genius, but he expects his players to already know the fundamentals. They should perform like a bike, not a horse. I think even that might be too gracious. I think he rode the coat-tails of Tom Brady and Bill Bellichick in New England, and based on the video scandal this year, might have had an unfair edge on top of that. So he turned that into a big contract with ND and rode Brady Quinn for all he was worth. Now the cupboard's bare and he has no one else to blame.

I'm very curious to see how his team does this year since its his guys and clearly he has some studs to work with. If they continue to fail then what excuse is left for Charlie to use? I think that's a big reason why he's slamming Michigan about making excuses before he's even taken the field. He needs the alumni to believe any win for him is a quality win and a sign of good things to come.

Of course if he loses, then I'm definitely tuning in for that press conference.

Catie, I'll give the fat man his due, I haven't heard him make any excuses directly. However I've heard the media make plenty of excuses. Supposedly Ty Willingham couldn't recruit and Chuck got stuck with his guys. Supposedly ND can't recruit top notch players since South Bend isn't attractive to them. Supposedly ND's academic standards cut into recruiting. Apparently Weis said something about how he could bring in a group of thugs and be winning tomorrow.

So essentially any and all explanations for why Weis has had little to no success thus far has involved some argument of poor recruiting. Now the ony thing I hear anymore is how decorated this incoming class for ND is. So I guess its do or die time for Weis since nobody is going to be able to explain failure at this point.

Rulz, have you been to South Bend? I didn't live too far from there. It has ZERO appearance of being a college town. I can see how recruits wouldn't want to go there if that is what they are looking for. They have basically the same weather as we have in Michigan and Ohio, which is of course not a huge draw for recruiting either. Nevertheless, they got a top notch recruiting class this year, which amazes the shit out of me after the horrible season that they had, with Charlie showing NO sign of being able to coach, WTF? Simply amazing. It will be very interesting to see what he can do with "his" recruits and I must confess, I am hoping for NOTHING! :o)

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